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Continuing their great form in the tournament, Kerala team has sailed to the finals of Tier II by defeating Chandigarh 3-0 in the semifinal that took place in Ranchi.

65 minutes of the match was played yesterday before it had to be stopped due to thunderstorms in Ranchi. Kerala was already leading 2-0 in the match and they knocked in one more goal to take the tally to 3-0 in the rest of the 25 minutes that was played today morning.

Kerala will take on the Sports Authority of India (SAI) team in the finals of Tier II.

For the last few days rumors were abound on the internet where sources close to various state football associations hurling accusations that certain teams participating in the 49th Junior National Football Championship has over aged players in their team. It was interesting to note that a state run sports body who is fielding their team was also accused of age-fraud.

Putting the rumors to bed is an article from The Telegraph which quotes an AIFF official.

“Bengal are one of the few states, who stuck by the rule book and fielded a side that had footballers within the stipulated age,” said an AIFF official. “Teams like Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya also adhered to the age restriction.

“For the rest of the states, it has become a free for all,” claimed the official.

Age-fraud is a serious malaise that needs to curbed else all these national level age-group tournaments turn worthless and associations that comply to the rules are made a laughing stock.

We at Football News India believe, AIFF, for the greater good of the game should ban State/District associations for a certain period of time if they are found fielding an over-age team in an age-group tournament.

Reports in Malayalam media suggest that Kerala based NRI C.K.P. Shanavas has been appointed as the logistics manager for the FIFA U-17 World Cup scheduled to start October 17th in UAE.

Shanavas is a lover of the beautiful game hailing from the city of Kozhikode. He is also an active member of the grass-root football academy – SEPT in the city. Shanavas is the son of late T.M. Rahman who was also the secretary of Kozhikode Football Association.

Shanavas is currently working in a UAE bank – Emirates NBDO. His employer has granted him 50 days of leave to be part of FIFA U-17 world Cup, which will start on October 17th and go on till November 8th.

Tainted and exiled former IPL chariman – Lalit Modi turns his attention to football now. Lalit Modi was recently banned from BCCI. According to a report in The Indian Express, Modi has had Initial discussion with AIFF president about starting a IPL style league.

The Indian U-16 team put up a very good show against Lebanon by defeating them 4-1 at the Ali Sabah Al-Salem Stadium in Kuwait.

India went ahead in the 9th minute when Nuruddin fly past 30 yard screamer in to the Lebanon goal. India had to wait till the dying moments of the first half to score again through Jayananda Singh.

In the second half of the match, Lebanon through Ali Kharoubi made it 2-1. From then on India mounted pressure and scored two goals in succession. Anirudh Thapa in the 61st minute and Bedashwor Singh in the 65th minute making it 4-1 in favor of India.

India went on to play some eye-catching football then on, but failed to increase the score line. This may work against us in terms of qualification. However, India can take heart about the performance and the talented youngsters at our disposal.

Due credits to coach Goutam Ghosh as well, under whom the India U16 team won the SAFF cup earlier this year and is now making good progress.

In 2007 Sepp Blatter, FIFA president said India is a “sleeping giant” when it comes to football. Football is constantly growing and marketing avenues related to football is seeing exponential growth these days in India.

Brands are scampering to associate with football to advertise their products. Of the lot alcohol companies seems to reaping the biggest reward. And beer undoubtedly seems to be the winner among the alcoholic beverages when it comes to football . With increasing European football screenings in Indian metro’s, pubs and sports bars are selling more beer than ever before.

Kerala has been in fine form at the ongoing Junior National Football Championship at Jharkhand. In their last match in Group D, Kerala edged Arunachal Pradesh by a solitary goal. Captain Anatha Murali scored the lone goal against Arunachal Pradesh in the 71st minute of the match. Earlier Kerala had defeated Jammu & Kashmir and Rajsathan in Group D.

According to reports Kerala will take on Chandigarh in the semifinal of Tier I that will take place on 26th September. Chandigarh from Group B has also been in good form. Chandigarh defeated Gujarat, Sikkim and Tripura to secure their place in semifinal.

The overwhelmingly efficient and financially sound Kerala Cricket Association is wanting to lease major stadiums in Kerala. In a request to Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), KCA had expressed interest to least out Kochi Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for 30 years.

However, their interest to lease out the stadium for another 30 years has been annulled for the time being by the executive committee of GCDA. If reports in Malayalam media are anything to go by, there was a stiff resistance from members in the executive committee of GCDA against this move.

GCDA decided not to take the request forward and reports suggest that GCDA would review KCA’s request once the current lease tenure is over. KCA has currently leased out the stadium till 2015. They inked a deal with GCDA in 2010, on an agreement that they will pay 10 lakhs per year for the total control of the stadium.

Reports also suggest that Kerala may host the 2014 Nehru Cup and Kochi would be the only suitable venue for the competition in Kerala. Earlier this year, when Santosh Trophy took place in Kerala, the conflict of interest between KCA and Kerala Football Association had reared its ugly head. It was amicably resolved and Santosh Trophy was held in the stadium.

Cricket Associations of other states in India have their exclusive stadiums. While in Kerala, KCA’s pursuit of a cricket only stadium has met with numerous road blocks. Earlier this year KCA had expressed interest to lease out Kozhikode Corporation stadium which resulted in a lot of opposition from other sports associations and the football crazy crowd in Kozhikode.

We at Football News India believe that no city in Kerala should lease out stadiums to a particular sporting body as it could create monopolistic practices that would eventually be detrimental to other sports. We are hoping that GCDA would not ink a deal to lease out the stadium to KCA for 30 years.

Update : A report in Malayala Manorama dated 25th September reports that GCDA is planning to open a Facebook page and conduct a poll among the public seeking their opinion on handing over the stadium to KCA for 30 years.